Co-founded by H&M Group, Inditex, BESTSELLER, adidas, and The Or Foundation, the Apparel Recovery Coalition (ARC) has officially launched at the Kantamanto second-hand clothing market in Accra, Ghana, with Circle Economy serving as independent coordinator. The coalition plans to spend two years building and testing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) blueprint that reflects the realities of cross-border used clothing flows, targeting countries that receive large volumes of exported second-hand garments. The first demonstration project is in Ghana, aiming to explore how producer responsibility funding can strengthen existing local circular textile ecosystems.

Key Points

  • ARC is co-founded by H&M Group, Inditex, BESTSELLER, adidas, and The Or Foundation, with Circle Economy as independent coordinator, launching at Kantamanto Market in Accra.
  • Kantamanto Market circulates approximately 25 million garments per month, supporting tens of thousands of livelihoods; the EU exports about 1.4 million tonnes of second-hand textiles annually, mainly to Africa and Asia.
  • ARC will test a global producer responsibility blueprint over two years, with the first demonstration project focused on Ghana, including Kantamanto Market infrastructure improvements, environmental remediation, and training programs.

The launch event was not held in a hotel conference hall, but at Egg Sellers Lane in the heart of Kantamanto Market. The venue featured an upcycled canopy made by The Or Foundation's remanufacturing department, while the podium and sound system were built from Cassaboard, a material developed by the organization's Material Technology and Transformation Lab from discarded textiles, echoing the market's own practices of reuse and regeneration.

Kantamanto is one of the world's largest centers for second-hand clothing reuse, repair, and upcycling. According to information disclosed at the event, the market recirculates approximately 25 million garments per month while sustaining tens of thousands of workers and entrepreneurs. Because of this scale, Kantamanto is seen as a sample for observing how post-consumer textiles are managed, and it also reflects the accompanying environmental and social impacts such as water and soil pollution.

Speaking on behalf of the Office of the President of Ghana, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim said at the event that she thanked the Kantamanto Obroni Wawu Business Association (KOBA) and The Or Foundation for inviting presidential office representatives to the market rather than a hotel conference room. She noted that it was the first time big brands had come to Kantamanto not for photos, but to acknowledge that communities like Kantamanto have been sustaining global fashion's circularity and must bear their fair share.

In his remarks, Reverend Opoku Afreh, Chairman of KOBA, expressed hope that ARC would build on the knowledge, skills, and resources already present in the Kantamanto community rather than ignoring or replacing them. He hoped members would gain access to necessary infrastructure, investment, and opportunities to expand their businesses, improve livelihoods, and strengthen the sustainable practices the community has developed over decades. Gifty Anderson, Secretary of the Kantamanto Women's Association, pointed out that such decisions were previously made in meeting rooms overseas while communities could only bear the impacts. She said the brands' visit to see the situation on the ground was a small but important step toward the justice needed, adding that "you must first acknowledge the problem before you can begin to find solutions."

ARC noted that current producer responsibility systems are mostly linked only to the primary markets where products are first sold, while many post-consumer textiles flow across borders and their impacts occur in other countries. Citing European Environment Agency data, the EU exports about 1.4 million tonnes of second-hand textiles annually, mainly to countries in Africa and Asia. This mismatch is the gap ARC seeks to bridge.

According to the plan, ARC will spend the next two years working with brands, producer responsibility organizations, sorters, recyclers, policymakers, and affected communities to refine actionable solutions, and will carry out its first demonstration project in Ghana to test how producer responsibility funding can support existing local circular textile systems. The coalition recognized The Or Foundation's 15 years of work in this ecosystem and said it would learn from communities at the heart of the used clothing trade while drawing on that experience. During the demonstration project, The Or Foundation will continue to organize and implement related actions in Accra, including Kantamanto Market infrastructure improvements, environmental remediation, and training programs.

Public information shows that KOBA was established after a major fire at Kantamanto Market and is the market's first organization to uniformly represent the entire community, uniting 13 sections within the market to prevent future disasters and represent members' interests in advancing subsequent development. The Or Foundation is a nonprofit operating in Accra, Ghana, with work spanning education, environmental justice, and fashion material development. It advocates for a just circular economy based on community ecological care and has proposed policy initiatives such as "Globally Accountable EPR."

For countries receiving used clothing exports, ARC's launch means global brands are beginning to try extending producer responsibility funding and mechanisms to the actual locations where post-consumer textiles end up. If this model works in Ghana, it could provide a reference sample for other countries that import large volumes of second-hand clothing, and bring variables in infrastructure and investment for workers in sorting, repair, and upcycling.

Source: Global fashion coalition launches in the heart of Kantamanto Market · Originally published on 2026-10-01